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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (27227)	4/4/1998 2:34:00 PM
From: The Perfect Hedge	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

MB- I'm getting absolutely crushed on CKR.I guess the pullback wasn't arbitrage:(The restaraunt sector is at new highs and this dog is getting wasted.I have Apr 35's and Jun 35's;would you sell if you had 'em?GD

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (27227)	4/4/1998 4:31:00 PM
From: Haywood	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike, Thanks for taking the time to respond. I agree with your assessment. By the way, check out the latest issue of Forbes with a discussion of the "Island" system. Excellent article and touches on many issues you did. It's fun to see the whining by the big firms about margins being cut. Such a shame. And I do business with Spear, Leads, but not in investments. They seem to be quality, and with a choice, I'll take the specialists. Thanks again. Haywood

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (27227)	4/4/1998 5:07:00 PM
From: mike jolley	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Hey Mr. Burke- There was an article recently in Forbes (I think it was Forbes) that discussed SOES trading. What is your opinion of SOES traders and what probability do you give a SOES trader of making a living over the course of a year? Thanks Jolley.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (27227)	4/4/1998 8:54:00 PM
From: Brian Moore	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

John Dvorak reports on the SEM-Invest Conference in New York (PC Mag, 4/21/98): "...most of Asia has put plans to build new fabs on hold..." "...at least 20 new fabrication plants -- most of them to make 300-mm products -- are in limbo. This is an enormous number of chips that will not be coming on-stream when they should. Since these things are planned so far in advance, it means that once more we'll see some sort of shortage situation, probably around 2000..." "...the potential for a shortage and a slower advancement might well make these companies more money..." "As more memory-intensive applications appear ... we'll start to see prices go up again." "It is estimated that 17 of the 20 fabs that were put on hold were going to be for memory chips."

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (27227)	4/5/1998 6:56:00 AM
From: Bilow	Respond to of 132070

Regarding the Nasdaq vs. Specialists; My SOES trading buddies say that issues that attract a lot of SOES traders end up with smaller spreads due to the competition. I think it might just be that issues with small spreads attract the bandits cause of the smaller cost of turning on a dime. On the other hand, they say that the majority of their trades (say 70-80%) are not done with SOES, but instead are either executed through ECNs (ISLD) or preferenced with select net directly to a market maker. Their effect would thus be to reduce the spreads. I don't think you can compare market makers in options with those in the nasdaq. My experience is that the options guys are just plain nasty. Very illiquid for most issues, it is totally pointless to place a limit order, except for long term. But on the Nasdaq, if I place a limit order through Schwab, I can see the spread narrow to my size on a slow stock. This does not apply to the options market. If the options guys had to play by the same rules, their market would be kinder and gentler. If you want a specialist traded AMEX stock with a big spread, try MRIA: quote.yahoo.com tscn.com As I post, it was 7 1/4 bid, 8 1/4 ask, with out a lot of volatility. I'll add my request for a comment on those who try to daytrade using Level 2 Nasdaq trading stations. -- Carl P.S. MRIA is a reasonable value stock. Once I was responsible for all the day's activity in it, though.